


Sisterly Love

by talk_less_smilemore



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-18 03:30:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21771052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talk_less_smilemore/pseuds/talk_less_smilemore
Summary: Alice is hiding something. Valkyrie freaks out. Skulduggery uses his trademark 'ah'.SP Fic Exchange 2019 for ArabellaCastre!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23
Collections: Skulduggery Pleasant Fic Exchange 2019





	Sisterly Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SpellsOfScarlet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpellsOfScarlet/gifts).



Alice is hiding something.

Even if her mother hadn't cornered her for a conversation, Valkyrie would have known. Alice is her little sister, after all; she grew up a wild and chatty little thing, a little sharp round the edges as all of the Edgleys are, but soft where it really matters.

Sometimes, Valkyrie wishes she herself was still that wonderful age her sister is - floating nicely into her teens just before Gordon died, before Skulduggery tried out his silver tongue on her, before life had a chance to harden her up and spit her back out onto the pavement with only a few very special people to care about. Alice is one of those people, partly because she's Valkyrie's sister, partly because she made a promise to look out for her, but, at the very core of things, it's because she cares so much. About _everything._ The environment, her friends, Valkyrie's dog, the little dead fly on the windowsill. How so much love can fit into one tiny teen, Valkyrie isn't quite sure she'll ever understand, but it's kind of infectious, and a conversation with Alice is a nice change of pace from the words that come out of whatever bad guy's mouth she's punching that week.

And so, when Valkyrie visits the Edgley household for her weekly dinner in late February, it's a bit of a surprise that Alice spends the entire evening glaring at her from across the table. It's the kind of glare that makes Valkyrie glad there's a table in the way.

"Alice?" She tries cautiously, frowning as her sister's scowl deepens behind a forkful of mashed potato. "Is everything alright?"

Alice says nothing, and so the Edgley sisters sit there and frown at each other, one with increasing irritation, one with increasing confusion. The trademark attitude, Valkyrie thinks, for a family torn apart and stitched back together by magic.

Oh.

_Oh._

A little bewildered, Valkyrie looks over at her mother, chokes on her peas, and excuses herself to the bathroom.

No, no, no. Alice can't have magic. If anyone finds out about her, it'll get her killed, or Valkyrie killed, or both of them killed. Her parents won't be safe. Her sister won't be safe - her beautiful baby sister, all bright eyes and friendly smiles, won't be safe, won't be protected in her own home anymore because there's a whole world of magic out there to explore and why wouldn't an excitable little girl want to get involved wit-

"Are you alright in there, dear?"

Probably more violently than necessary, Valkyrie yanks open the door and drags Melissa into the bathroom with her, ignoring the little gasp she gives.

"Mum," She says, and then chokes on her own words and can't carry on but for a strangled, "Alice-"

"I know." Melissa sighs, curling a hand into Valkyrie's hair. "I know, baby. She's been weird the last few days. I wanted you to talk to her later. I remember..." Yes. She knows - Valkyrie's reflection was the same kind of disinterested when she first took it out of the mirror, but the thought that Alice could be doing that, could already be involved with the wrong kind of people, is sickening. "Would you just talk to her? Please, love. She'll listen to you, because you're her sister. She looks up to you."

And Valkyrie isn't a role model, not usually, but Melissa deserves at least this, at least a conversation for all Valkyrie has done to them. Besides, Alice might not have magic. She can't jump to conclusions, right? Most teenagers are... Grumpy. Isolated. Maybe she's had a falling out with her friends, or failed an exam, or started her period. Normal teenager activity.

 _Not Alice,_ A little voice in the back of her head says. _Not her._

So she nods, and she stomps downstairs and grabs her car keys and kisses her dad goodbye.

"Get in the car. We're going for a drive."

"I don't want to come."

"And I don't care. Get in the car."

It earns her a deeper scowl, if that was even possible, and Valkyrie turns on her heel and walks out. Alice follows her, more than a little reluctantly, and Valkyrie tries to control her nerves, her panic. She just doesn't know what to _do,_ what to say. So she doesn't say anything. She makes Alice sit in silence until they get to Gordon's house - her house, now, and one day maybe she'll be able to pass it on to her little sister - and then she turns off the engine and locks the doors and waits.

Alice sighs. "What did she say?"

"Enough." Valkyrie pauses. "Alice... Between us, and only between us, tell me what's going on."

It's a command, not a request, because she can't go wrong with a command. Requests, Valkyrie thinks, have too much room for error, too much room for emotion. Any indication that Valkyrie is being nice means Alice can misinterpret her intentions, and she might not have another chance to push her for answers. So she commands, and she braces herself for tears.

"No." Alice says, short and snappy.

Oh.

"Why not?"

A heavy sigh, a roll of the eyes. "You wouldn't understand if I told you."

Valkyrie takes a deep breath, then, and prepares her best glare. If she's wrong about this- if she's wrong about this, Skulduggery will never let her live it down, but also, she's going to be exposing Alice to the world of magic. There's a fascination with that, and it runs deep in the blood of the Edgley family. Gordon. Valkyrie. Now Alice. There is no coming back from this.

"Then show me." She whispers, and Alice clicks her fingers.

Sparks fly, and Valkyrie stares, her stomach bottoming out. She can't breathe, can't think. Perhaps she wasn't as prepared for this as she'd thought she'd be.

"Get out of the car." She growls.

"It's pouring with rain-"

"Get _out."_

Alice tries the door. It's locked.

"It's locked." She says.

"Stay here." Valkyrie snaps, and then she lets herself out of the car and steps into its blindspot, where Alice can't see her keeping the wind and rain off of herself and failing Skulduggery's number into her phone.

"Good evening, dear." For a minute, Valkyrie can't find words. She tries to remember how to breathe properly, how to function. "Valkyrie? Is everything-"

"Alice has magic." She blurts, holding back tears. "I don't know what to do. What to say. How to keep her safe."

"Ah." He says.

"Skulduggery-"

"Perhaps you should breathe, for a start." He interrupts. "You're doing that awful whining thing." Skulduggery waits patiently, evidently listening for a sign that she's calming down, before he continues. "Would you like me to come over?"

"Yes. Please. I'm at Gordon's. I've locked her in my car."

"Well, I wouldn't say that's the best course of action." He huffs a laugh. "A cup of tea might be nicer. Calm down, and calm her down, and I'll be over in half an hour."

He hangs up on her, then, and Valkyrie makes a strangled noise in the back of her throat, throwing her head back and begging whatever gods are still out there to please, please let this not be difficult. Then she gets back in the car and Alice looks at her.

"It's pouring with rain." She repeats, studying Valkyrie's not-wet hair and not-damp clothes and not-muddy shoes. Her eyes widen, and she begins a sentence that trails uncertainly off until Valkyrie nods.

"Please don't set my car on fire," Valkyrie coughs, "And I'll let you out of it. There's a lot we need to talk about."

A lot we need to talk about safely, she thinks. With the right people, before Alice meets the wrong ones. There's a lot to like about magic, after all. Skulduggery taught her, and he taught her well; while Valkyrie still isn't quite sure she's the role model Alice deserves, there's so much more she can share with her now. Knowledge, yes, and history, but also stories - all of the people that Valkyrie looked up to so much when she was Alice's age. She can finally tell her about Ghastly, about Gordon, about everything they've all been through for each other. About everything Valkyrie has put herself through for Alice.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Leave a comment below :)


End file.
